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DAY 4: 21 Days of Prayer – Upside Down Kingdom

21 days of prayer from the Sermon on the Mount that will transform you from the inside out.

As we begin the new year, Converge churches and missionaries from around the globe will embark on 21 Days of Prayer. Join us on this prayer journey by reading the daily entries on Converge’s blog, or by downloading your free 21 Days of Prayer: Upside-down Kingdom guide (English/Spanish). In addition, you can share daily posts from our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter feeds. Thank you for joining us as we open 2022 in prayer together.

Day 4: The fulfillment of the Law

Matthew 5:17-20

17“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

The Bible is the story of Jesus. Jesus wants to be clear with his audience that he is the fulfillment of the Scriptures. His reference to the Law and Prophets concerns the Old Testament as a whole. The Hebrew Bible is the TaNaK, the Torah (or Law), prophets and writings. Jesus is declaring he has come to fulfill what was written about him in the Scriptures. He explains this on the road to Emmaus: “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself (Lk. 24:26-27 ESV).

Once we see Jesus as the fulfillment of Scripture, he then wants us to align our lives to it. Jesus’ statements about the commandments take on a deeper meaning than just obeying rules or laws. Jesus says your righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees. The Pharisees and teachers of the law were really “righteous” and lived according to the rules. Jesus gets to the heart of being a disciple—not just obeying commandments but taking on Jesus’ righteousness and then being transformed by his love.

Jesus was able to accomplish for us what we could not do and live the life we could not live. His expectation for us is to know him and allow him to change us from the inside out. And we are to have a righteousness deeper than obeying a law but rooted in who we are in Christ. Jesus wants to change us and to live out his kingdom in the world today.

Prayer

Jesus, help me to see you in Scripture. Help me to be able to show others who you are and what you have done for us. I pray I can allow you to change me from the inside out. I pray that I live not just outwardly in obedience to commandments to be a “good” person but am transformed by your righteousness imparted in me. Help me to see life and others as you do and to love you and others as genuinely and as deeply as you want me to. In your name, amen. 

 

Continue your prayer journey throughout the year with Converge. Download the 2022 Converge Prayer Calendar to join us as we pray for missionaries, church planters, chaplains and district and national staff members.

You can also join a global prayer network and meet virtually with others to pray for the missionaries, people and specific needs of one of Converge International Ministries’ global initiatives.

Excerpt from 21 Days of Prayer: Upside-Down Kingdom written by Robert Watson and Justin Martz.

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